Digital Cipher No. 17

I. Music & Tech

The Transatlantic Cable

What transmits 160 terabits a second and sits below 17,000 beneath the ocean? The highest capacity subsea cable that was recently laid by Facebook, Microsoft, and telecom company Telxius. The cable known as Marea, will span the Atlantic ocean from Virginia Beach to Bilboa Spain. In addition to providing connection stability during natural disasters, Marea will also provide path hubs to Africa, Middle East, and Asia. Read more about the improvements being made in worldwide data transferhere.

Highest Paid Hip Hop Artists 2017

Forbes once again delivered the list of Hip-hop’s top 20 earners, and this year the grand total was a whopping $619.5 million. That is a 38% increase from last year’s $448.5 million total. At the top of the list was Sean “Diddy” Combs with $130 million, followed by Drake at $94 million, and then Mr. Sean Carter at $42 million. Currently hip hop is the most consumed music genre and as it’s popularity continues to dominate mainstream culture this trend will mostly continue to accelerate. For the rest of the list check it out here.

Spotify’s Worth : Their Latest Valuation

Last week private trading of Spotify shares confirmed a valuation of $16 billion. While valuation the private trading market is often subject to scrutiny, this market does effectively give shareholders of large companies like Spotify, Airbnb, Uber, etc….an opportunity to turn their investments into cash. Up until June Spotify private trading had the company at a $13 billion valuation. Now there are talks that when Spotify does list on the public exchange it could be valued at $20 billion. For more information on the private trading market and Spotify’s future valuation check it out here.